Mail chute and receptacle.



R. C. RIEGG.

MAIL CHUTE AND RECEPTACLE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 14| 1916.

LQQLQSQ. Pmnfed May 29, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET R. C. RIEGG.

MAIL cHuE AND RECEPTACLE APPLICATION FILED AUG I4 1916 Patented May 29,1917 l 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2. 9 3.1%. I5 7 H /y Syvum/woz @06M @lieg/g meNosms Pzrsns co.. Nam-urna. wAsnmcmN. 111':A

R. C. RIEGG.

MAIL CHUTE AND RECEPTACLE.

APPLxcATIoN HLED Aus. 14, me.

1,227,934., Patented May 29, 191?.

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@wi/maw Img @LO/5ml( Q ROBERT C. RIEGG, 0F SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

MAIL CHUTE AND RECEPTACLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Iatented May 29, 1917.

Application led August 14, 1916. Serial No. 114,873.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. RIEGG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sacramento, in the county of Sacramento and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in MailChutes and Receptacles; and I do declare the Jfollowing to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to improvements in mail chutes and receptaclesand has for its principal object to provide a simply constructed deviceof this character which can be very inexpensively manufactured, and yetwhich will be extremely eflicient in operation.

An additional object is to provide a mail chute and receptacle havingimproved construction of receiving mechanism in the receptacle.

With these and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novelfeatures of construction, combination and arrangement of parts whichwill be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinalsection taken on the plane of the line 1 1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of my improved mailing device;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a similar view on the plane of the line 5 5 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 6 is a detail vertical section on the plane of the line 6 6 of Fig.4;

Figs. 7 and 8 are detail vertical sections taken respectively on theline 7 7 and 8 8 of Fig. 6.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates animproved mailing chute into which the letters are dropped, whichcommunicates with the receptacle 2 into which the letters are depositedwhen being dropped into said chute. This mailing device in addition tothe letter drop, has a chute and receptacle for papers and parcels whichare designated by the numerals 3 and 4 respectively. The chute 3 has anopening 5 therein into which the parcels are dropped, said parcelsfalling into a suitable cage 6 disposed in the receptacle 4 and mountedupon rollers 7 by which the same may be readily removed therefromthrough the door 8 at the rear. As shown in the accompanying drawings,the parcel chute 3 is disposed directly beneath the letter chute l, thebottom of the latter forming the top of the former, while the receptacle2 is disposed to the rear of the chute 3 and the lower portion of thechute l. The wall between the chute 3 and the receptacle 2 is preferablyhinged, as shown. In the present instance the letter chute l is dividedinto two parts A and B, the letters for'one locality being deposited inone part and those for another in the other part. The letters aredeposited in one or the other compartments of the receptacle 2,depending upon the part of the chute into which they are dropped.

The chute 1 may be of any suitable size and shape and constructed of anydesired material, and is provided with a pair or more of letter slots 9.Secured to the top of the chute and Vconnected with the slots 9 is amouth piece 10, which is preferably covered by a closure 10', thismouthpiece extending a suitable distance above the top of the chute andbeing arranged at an angle thereto, as shown. The front of the mouthpiece is preferably in the form of a transparent panel provided on itsupper edge with a pair of finger notches ll'to facilitate the droppingof letters into the slots. Arranged in the upper portion ofthe chute andforming a continuation of the back of the mouth piece 10 is a letterguiding and conveying plate 12 which enables the guide to be formedintegrally with the back plate of said mouth piece, as shown, and isdisposed in substantially the same angle, its end, however, beingslightly curved downwardly. The downwardly turned lower end terminates asuiiicient distance from the front side of the chute to readily permitthe letters to pass freely between the plate and the chute.

Arranged in the lower portion of the chute and disposed transverselacross the same in the opposite direction 4rom the plate 12 is a lowerguiding and conveying -plate 13 which is formed on a suitable curve asshown, and has its rim set in the front wall of the chute to provide aHush oint which will prevent any possibility of the letters catching onthe upper edge of the plate. The lower end of this plate 13 is turneddownwardly and extends through a discharge opening in the bottom of thechute 1 so that the letters may be discharged into the two parts of thereceptacle 2. 1n order to keep the letters dropped in one side of thechute from those deposited in the other side, a vertical wall separatesthe compartment 1 substantially in its middle.

When the, device is used in the post office building the door 2 ispreferably formed of glass or a translucent panel so that the quantityof mail may be readily seen, but when not used in these buildings orwhen used on the street, the hinged door 2 is preferably formed ofmetal. Also when used in hotels, oilice or other buildings, the upperportion 2 of the receptacle 2 will be eX- tended to mouthpiece 10. `Whenthe device is 'to be used in buildings other than post offices, it ispreferably disposed so that the rear of the same is in contact with thewall of the building, thus preventing the opening of the doors 2 and 8.1n such a case the front wall of the compartments 3 and d are hinged soas to provide doors whereby access may be gained to the` interior of thedevice. The rear wall of the chute or compartment 3 is also hinged toform a door 3 so that the letters may be removed from the compartments2. The door 3 is hinged at its bottom so that it will open outwardly anddownwardly as shown. As hereinbefore mentioned, the receptacle 2 isdivided into two compartments separated by a wall 15. As the letters aredischarged from the chute they are deposited upon a false bottom orplatform 16 in one or the other of the compartments of the receptacle 2,said platforms being so constructed that they will be gradually loweredas the weight of the letters increases. Since the construction of eachof the platforms 16 and its operative mechanism is exactly alike, 1 willhereinafter describe but one.

The opposite walls of the compartment in which the platform moves areeach provided with a vertical guide strip 17 disposed substantially inthe center thereof, the platform or false bottom having its edgesnotched as shown at 18 to receive said strips. As shown in Fig. il, apair of these guides arc used in each of the compartments of thereceptacle 2. One edge of each strip 17 has rack teeth 19 formed thereinwhile the other is'straight, said rack teeth being in mesh with theteeth on the gear wheels 2O which are carried by said platform 16.

rllhe platform 16 has a pair of brackets 21 depending from its underside adjacent the edges in which the notches 18 are formed, saidbrackets rotatably supporting a shaft 22 upon the opposite ends of whichthe gears 2O are secured. These brackets may be of any desired formationbut are preferably constructed of L-shaped plates having attaching feet23 by which the same are secured to the under surface of the platform.The bracket on one edgeof the platform is also provided with a spacingblock 24 upon which is rotatably mounted a small gear wheel 25,whoseteeth also mesh with the rack teeth 19, said additional gear aidingthe larger gears to hold the platform in horizontal position.

In addition to carrying the gears 2O and 25, one of the brackets 21 alsorotatably supports a guide roller 26 whose'periphery normally engagesthe straight edge of one of the guide strips 17. A smaller guide roller27 also contacts with the straight edge of this -strip and is rotatablymounted upon the spacing block 24, its axisbeing in the horizontal planeof the axis` of the small gear 25. This arrangement more effectivelyretains the platform 16 in its horizontal position and readily guidesythe same during its vertical movement. 1n place of the rollers 26 and 27the other guide strip on the opposite side of the compartment of the'receptacle 2 has a balance block 28 carried by the platform 16contacting therewith.

Disposed around the shaft 22 is ahelical spring 29 one of whose ends issecured to a collar 30 which isY keyed to the shaft and thereforerotates therewith. The opposite end of said spring, however, is' securedtoy a collar 31 which is free to slide on said shaft and is held againstrotation by a pin 32 which projects therefrom and contacts with theplatform 16. Since one end of the spring is secured tothe shaft 22 andthe opposite end` indirectly attached to thev platform 16, it will beseen that when the latter is depressed and caused to move downwardly onthe guide strips 17, the gear wheels 20 will be rotated and thus revolvethe shaft 22 and tighten the spring 29. As the spring tightens, thesliding collar 31 will be gradually moved toward the first collar 30.However, when the weight on the platform is released, the tension of thespring 29 will causethe gear wheels 20 to' be rotated in a direction tomove the platform. upwardly into its original position.

1t will be seen that with a mailing device such, as heretoforedescribed, the letters which are dropped into the chute 1 willV bedeposited upon one of the platforms 16, and as the letters continue toaccumulate thereon their weight will gradually force the same downwardlyin order that more letters may be accommodated, and that when it becomestime for the removal of the letters in the receptacle, the door 2 isopened and the same removed from the platforms 16, which will thenreturn to the top of the compartments of the receptacle 2 in position toreceive additional letters. Such a device, it is obn vious, will greatlyvfacilitate the collection of mail matter, particularly when thedirections which are pasted above or below the mouth pieces l0 arefollowed, and the mail dropped in accordance therewith, the lettersbeing all deposited in one position on the platforms 16, and the mailfor one locality being on one platform and that for another on theother. Furthermore, because of the simple construction of the operatingparts of the movable false bottom the same will not be likely to get outof order very easily and can be very inexpensively manufactured andrepaired.

I claim:

l. In a machine of the class described, a receptacle, a false bottomtherefor, a pair of vertical guides on the opposite walls of saidreceptacle, and a spring tension device carried by the bottom, saidbottom being movable downwardly against the tension of said device bythe weight of articles placed thereon, the resistance of the deviceincreasing as the weight increases, the tension of the device beingexerted to automatically return said bottom to the top of the receptaclewhen the articles are removed.

2. In a device of the class described, a receptacle, a false bottomtherefor in the form of a platform, a pair of vertical guides on theopposite walls of said receptacle, a rack on the edge of one of saidguides, a shaft carried by the bottom, a gear wheel on the shaft andmeshing with said rack, and a spring carried by the platform andconnected to said shaft, the platform being movable downwardly againstthe tension of said spring by the weight of articles placed thereon',the tension of the spring increasing as the weight increases, thetension of the spring being exerted automatically upon the removal ofthe articles to return said bottom to the top of the receptacle by therotation of said gear wheel.

3. In a device of the class described, a receptacle, a false bottomtherefor in the form of a platform, a pair of vertical guides on theopposite walls of said receptacle, a rack on one edge of each guide,spaced apart brackets secured to the under side of said platform, ashaft rotatably mounted in said brackets, gear wheels on the oppositeends of said shaft and in mesh with said racks, a roller carried by oneof the brackets and contacting with the straight edge of one of saidguides, and a spring carried by the platform and connected to saidshaft, the platform being movable downwardly against the tension of saidspring by the weight of articles placed thereon, the tension of thespring` increasing as the weight increases, the tension of the springbeing exerted automatically to rotate said gear wheels to return theplatform to the top of the receptacle when the weight is removed.

4. In a device of the class described, a receptacle, a false bottomtherefor in the form of a platform,apair of vertical guides on theopposite walls of said receptacle, a rack on one edge of one of saidguides, a shaft carried by the bottom, a gear wheel on the shaft andmeshing with said rack, a spring carried by the platform and connectedto said shaft', the platform being movable downwardly against thetension of said spring by the weight of articles placed thereon, thetension of the spring increasing as the weight increases, the tension ofthe spring being exerted automatically upon the removal of the weight toreturn said bottom to the top of the receptacle by the rotation of saidgear wheel, and a pair of spaced apart wheels carried by said platformand disposed one on each side of one of said guides, said pair of wheelsbeing disposed at a point spaced from said gear wheel whereby tomaintain said platform in a horizontal position.

5. In a device of the class described, a receptacle, a false bottomtherefor in the form of a platform, a pair of vertical guides on theopposite walls of said receptacle, brackets secured to the under side ofsaid platform, a shaft rotatably mounted in said brackets, a connectionbetween said shaft and one of said guides, a helical spring surroundingsaid shaft, a collar secured to the shaft, one end of said spring beingattached to said collar, an additional collar rotatable on the shaft,and a pin eX- tending from the last mentioned collar and contacting withthe bottom of the platform to prevent rotation thereof, the opposite endof the spring being secured to the last mentioned collar, the platformbeing movable downwardly on said guides against the tension' of saidspring by the weight of articles placed thereon, said spring being woundmore tightly as the weight on the platform increases, said platformbeing movable to the top of said receptacle upon the removal of theweight therefrom by the tension of the spring acting through said shaftupon the connection between said shaft and one of said guides.

6. In a device of the class described, a receptacle, a false bottomtherefor in the form of a platform, a pair of vertical guides on theopposite walls of said receptacle, said platform being movabledownwardly on said guides when mail is placed thereon, a rack on oneedge of each guide, brackets secured to the under side of said platform,a shaft mounted in said bracket, gear wheels on the opposite ends ofsaid shaft and having their teeth meshing with the teeth of the racks, aroller rotatably carried by one of the brackets and contacting with thestraight edge of one of said guides, a helical spring surrounding saidshaft, a collar secured to` the shaft, one end of said spring beingsecured to said collar, an additional collar rotatable on the shaft, anda pin extending In testimony whereof I have hereunto set from the lastmentioned collar and contactmy hand in presence of two subscribing wt-10 ing with the bottom of the platform to prenesses.

Vent rotation thereof, the opposite end of ROBERT C RIEGG the springbeingsecured tov the last mentioned collar whereby the platform will beYWitnesses: returned to the top of the receptacle when JOHN WESTON, themail is removed therefrom. E. A, BROWN.

- Copies of this patent may be obtained for 've cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

